Preparation

Opening response

Prayer of thanksgiving

Blessed are you, God of compassion and mercy,to you be praise and glory forever.In the darkness of our sin,your light breaks forth like the dawnand your healing springs up for deliverance.As we rejoice in the gift of your saving help,sustain us with your bountiful Spiritand open our lips to sing your praise.Blessed be God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.Blessed be God forever.

Hymn

Arm of the Lord, awake, awake!

As in the ancient days appear;the sacred annals speak thy fame:be now omnipotently near,to endless ages still the same.

Thine arm, Lord, is not shortened now;it lacks not now the power to save;still present with thy people, thoubearest them through life's disparted wave.

By death and hell pursued in vain,to thee the ransomed seed shall come,shouting, their heavenly Zion gain,and pass through death triumphant home.

Where pure essential joy is found,the Lord's redeemed their heads shall raise,with everlasting gladness crowned,and filled with love, and lost in praise.

Confession of sin

Let us confess our sins against God and our neighbor.

Silence may be kept.

Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against youin thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us; that we may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your name. Amen.

Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us all our sinsthrough our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen us in allgoodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep us ineternal life. Amen.

The Word of God

Psalm 22

Refrain:Please don’t be far from me, Lord.

My God! My God, why have you left me all alone? Why are you so far from saving me— so far from my anguished groans?My God, I cry out during the day, but you don’t answer; even at nighttime I don’t stop.You are the holy one, enthroned.You are Israel’s praise.Our ancestors trusted you— they trusted you and you rescued them; they cried out to you and they were saved; they trusted you and they weren’t ashamed.

But I’m just a worm, less than human; insulted by one person, despised by another.All who see me make fun of me— they gape, shaking their heads: “He committed himself to the Lord, so let God rescue him; let God deliver him because God likes him so much.”But you are the one who pulled me from the womb, placing me safely at my mother’s breasts.I was thrown on you from birth; you’ve been my God since I was in my mother’s womb.Please don’t be far from me, because trouble is near and there’s no one to help.

Many bulls surround me; mighty bulls from Bashan encircle me.They open their mouths at me like a lion ripping and roaring!I’m poured out like water. All my bones have fallen apart. My heart is like wax; it melts inside me.My strength is dried up like a piece of broken pottery.My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; you’ve set me down in the dirt of death.Dogs surround me; a pack of evil people circle me like a lion— oh, my poor hands and feet!I can count all my bones! Meanwhile, they just stare at me, watching me.They divvy up my garments among themselves; they cast lots for my clothes.

But you, Lord! Don’t be far away! You are my strength! Come quick and help me!Deliver me from the sword. Deliver my life from the power of the dog. Save me from the mouth of the lion. From the horns of the wild oxen you have answered me!

I will declare your name to my brothers and sisters; I will praise you in the very center of the congregation!All of you who revere the Lord—praise him! All of you who are Jacob’s descendants—honor him! All of you who are all Israel’s offspring— stand in awe of him!Because he didn’t despise or detest the suffering of the one who suffered— he didn’t hide his face from me. No, he listened when I cried out to him for help.

I offer praise in the great congregation because of you; I will fulfill my promises in the presence of those who honor God.Let all those who are suffering eat and be full! Let all who seek the Lord praise him! I pray your hearts live forever!Every part of the earth will remember and come back to the Lord; every family among all the nations will worship you.Because the right to rule belongs to the Lord, he rules all nations.Indeed, all the earth’s powerful will worship him; all who are descending to the dust will kneel before him; my being also lives for him.Future descendants will serve him; generations to come will be told about my Lord.They will proclaim God’s righteousness to those not yet born, telling them what God has done.

Glory to the Father and to the Sonand to the Holy Spirit;as it was in the beginning is nowand will be forever. Amen.

Refrain:Please don’t be far from me, Lord.

Psalm prayer

Restless with grief and fear,the abandoned turn to you:in every hour of trial,good Lord, deliver us,O God most holy, God most strong,whose wisdom is the cross of Christ.

Old Testament readingExodus 1:1-14

These are the names of the Israelites who came to Egypt with Jacob along with their households: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin, Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher. The total number in Jacob’s family was seventy. Joseph was already in Egypt. Eventually, Joseph, his brothers, and everyone in his generation died. But the Israelites were fertile and became populous. They multiplied and grew dramatically, filling the whole land.

Now a new king came to power in Egypt who didn’t know Joseph. He said to his people, “The Israelite people are now larger in number and stronger than we are. Come on, let’s be smart and deal with them. Otherwise, they will only grow in number. And if war breaks out, they will join our enemies, fight against us, and then escape from the land.” As a result, the Egyptians put foremen of forced work gangs over the Israelites to harass them with hard work. They had to build storage cities named Pithom and Rameses for Pharaoh. But the more they were oppressed, the more they grew and spread, so much so that the Egyptians started to look at the Israelites with disgust and dread. So the Egyptians enslaved the Israelites. They made their lives miserable with hard labor, making mortar and bricks, doing field work, and by forcing them to do all kinds of other cruel work.

Silence may be kept.

New Testament readingHebrews 7:11-28

So if perfection came through the levitical office of priest (for the people received the Law under the priests), why was there still a need to speak about raising up another priest according to the order of Melchizedek rather than one according to the order of Aaron? When the order of the priest changes, there has to be a change in the Law as well. The person we are talking about belongs to another tribe, and no one ever served at the altar from that tribe. It’s clear that our Lord came from the tribe of Judah, but Moses never said anything about priests from that tribe. And it’s even clearer if another priest appears who is like Melchizedek. He has become a priest by the power of a life that can’t be destroyed, rather than a legal requirement about physical descent. This is confirmed:

You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek.

On the one hand, an earlier command is set aside because it was weak and useless (because the Law made nothing perfect). On the other hand, a better hope is introduced, through which we draw near to God. And this was not done without a solemn pledge! The others have become priests without a solemn pledge, but this priest was affirmed with a solemn pledge by the one who said,

The Lord has made a solemn pledge and will not change his mind:You are a priest forever.

As a result, Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant. The others who became priests are numerous because death prevented them from continuing to serve. In contrast, he holds the office of priest permanently because he continues to serve forever. This is why he can completely save those who are approaching God through him, because he always lives to speak with God for them.

It’s appropriate for us to have this kind of high priest: holy, innocent, incorrupt, separate from sinners, and raised high above the heavens. He doesn’t need to offer sacrifices every day like the other high priests, first for their own sins and then for the sins of the people. He did this once for all when he offered himself. The Law appoints people who are prone to weakness as high priests, but the content of the solemn pledge, which came after the Law, appointed a Son who has been made perfect forever.

Silence may be kept.

Gospel canticleThe Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah)

Refrain: Happy are people who are hungry and thirsty for righteousness, because they will be fed until they are full.

Bless the Lord God of Israelbecause he has come to help and has delivered his people.He has raised up a mighty savior for us in his servant David’s house,just as he said through the mouths of his holy prophets long ago.He has brought salvation from our enemiesand from the power of all those who hate us.He has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors,and remembered his holy covenant,the solemn pledge he made to our ancestor Abraham.He has granted that we would be rescuedfrom the power of our enemiesso that we could serve him without fear,in holiness and righteousness in God’s eyes,for as long as we live.You, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High,for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way.You will tell his people how to be savedthrough the forgiveness of their sins.Because of our God’s deep compassion,the dawn from heaven will break upon us,to give light to those who are sitting in darknessand in the shadow of death,to guide us on the path of peace.”

Luke 1:68-79

Glory to the Father and to the Sonand to the Holy Spirit;as it was in the beginning is nowand will be forever. Amen.

Refrain: Happy are people who are hungry and thirsty for righteousness, because they will be fed until they are full.

Brief silence.

The Apostle’s Creed

Let us unite in this historic confession of the Christian faith:

I believe in God, the Father Almighty,creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,born of the Virgin Mary,suffered under Pontius Pilate,was crucified, died, and was buried;he descended to the dead.On the third day he rose again;he ascended into heaven,is seated at the right hand of the Father,and will come again to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,the holy catholic church,the communion of saints,the forgiveness of sins,the resurrection of the body,and the life everlasting. Amen.

Prayers

Intercession and thanksgiving

Prayers are offeredfor the day and its tasksfor the world and its needsfor the Church and her life

Response

Lord of lifeIn your mercy, hear us.

Silence may be kept.

Collect of the day

Almighty God,whose most dear Son went not up to joy but first he suffered pain,and entered not into glory before he was crucified:mercifully grant that we, walking in the way of the cross,may find it none other than the way of life and peace;through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,who is alive and reigns with you,in the unity of the Holy Spirit,one God, now and forever. Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer

Trusting in the compassion of God,as our Savior taught us, so we pray

Our Father in heaven,hallowed be your name,your kingdom come,your will be done,on earth as in heaven.Give us today our daily bread.Forgive us our sinsas we forgive those who sin against us.Lead us not into temptationbut deliver us from evil.For the kingdom, the power,and the glory are yoursnow and forever.Amen.